brother in law's snow

[Beap52 589]

Here in south Missouri, we've just got a dusting of snow.  My brother in law in north Missouri has several inches.  Earlier this week he called and while we were talking he said his wife was sweeping snow off deck.  "Now she's got a shovel and cleaning sidewalk towards driveway."  He has a long drive way and I said to Larry, "Yell out the door and tell your wife when she get to the mail box at the end of the driveway to be sure to bring the mail back in!"  We thought it was funny--apparently Kathy didn't.

 

Well today he sent a picture of their snow with then caption: "Guess what I have to do when the wind stops blowing?"  I replied " Spray Kathy's shovel with  non-stick cooking oil so snow won't stick?  I don't have a reply yet.

 

Years ago we got some big snows.  Walking over fences with just the top strand of barbed wire showing and making snow caves.  My kids have never that that kind of fun.  Mom says we three boys would come in with our boots full of icy water, toes red from the cold.  Of course we didn't have cell phones, game boys and weren't on traveling sports teams.  As we got old enough to be responsible, we did have rifles, shotguns, fishing poles, bicycles and three Harley Davidson 50cc motor bikes--One for parts and two to ride around the farm. 

[WHX?? 46,902]

1 hour ago, Beap52 said:

making snow caves.  My kids have never that that kind of fun. 

Send your kids to Wisconsin I'll teach them how to make snow caves...

[Handy Don 10,656]

1 hour ago, Beap52 said:

My kids have never that that kind of fun.

Here in the ‘burbs north of NYC, in plenty of years we’d get a dump of up to a foot or more and so I got to demonstrate snow caving!

We also have a terrific hill for sledding right in our side yard--my granddaughter calls it “terrifyingly exciting".

The last two years have been more rain than snow, though.

[953 nut 51,919]

I grew up about fifty miles north of @Handy Don and remember some winters when the snow would drift half way up the windows of the house. Here is a picture of the road in front of the house, I can't remember the year but it was a big one.

[Sailman 1,134]

Since this is a snow thread I'll jump in with a story from my childhood. Growing up in north eastern Iowa we saw huge snow storms as a kid. Hard getting the door open on the house some mornings. My mom told the story of once there was a severe blizzard predicted. My dad and mom took my 2 younger sisters to Waukon about 10 miles from the farm to leave them with grandparents. My older brother and I stayed back at the farm. On the way home the storm got so bad my dad had to stop halfway home and leave my mom and the car at a friends place. The road was impassable. He walked the 5 miles to home. Meanwhile my mom called all the folks on his path to turn on yard lights so my dad could orient himself in the blinding snow. Half way home he bumped into a car stalled in the snow with an elderly couple trapped inside. He then walked to the next farm where they sent out a tractor to pull the folks to safety. He continued on his walk through the blizzard and made it to our farm. He probably saved those folks lives that day. His favorite hero was John Wayne. I thought my Dad was John Wayne....  

Edited January 14 by Sailman

[Beap52 589]

9 hours ago, 953 nut said:

I grew up about fifty miles north of @Handy Don and remember some winters when the snow would drift half way up the windows of the house. Here is a picture of the road in front of the house, I can't remember the year but it was a big one.

 

That is indeed "a big one"!   I don't know that we would be able to handle a snow like that down here. We used to have "A" plows here in Missouri.  They were an "A" shaped snow plow that would go on the front of motor graders to clear deep snow.  I  made a comment to my neighbor, who is retired from the department of transportation,  about not seeing any and he said MODOT got rid of most of them.

 

 

[Handy Don 10,656]

1 minute ago, Beap52 said:

9 hours ago, 953 nut said:

That is indeed "a big one"!   I don't know that we would be able to handle a snow like that down here. We used to have "A" plows here in Missouri.  They were an "A" shaped snow plow that would go on the front of motor graders to clear deep snow.  I  made a comment to my neighbor, who is retired from the department of transportation,  about not seeing any and he said MODOT got rid of most of them.

 

 

If they aren’t getting use, they just clutter up the yard while needing regular maintenance. And Depts of Transportation are a BIG line in the budget making them easy targets!

 

[c-series don 7,864]

Around here they are called Vee Plows and nobody uses them anymore. Seems lots of highway yards have them out front with the township’s name on it but are just for display purposes. One of those on a grader with chains and a skilled operator is almost unstoppable. Railroads definitely still use them, some of the videos on YouTube are pretty cool!